Annual Take Two losses hit $137.9m

North American publisher Take Two has reported losses of $137.9m for its fiscal year ending October 31st. This compares to a net income of $97.1m last year.

Revenue for the year hit $968.5m, which is down from $1.5bn year-on-year. 2008’s numbers were far higher thanks to the release of next-gen outing Grand Theft Auto IV.

Losses for the firm’s fourth quarter reached $22m – in the same period in 2008 Take Two made a loss of $15m. Revenue for the period sat at $343.4m, an improvement on last year’s $323.4m.

The publisher also confirmed that recent sandbox shooter Borderlands has now sold over 2m copies, and has in Take Two’s words “established itself as a key franchise” so it’s safe to say more can be expected from the series.

Other successes included NBA 2K10 and the still-strong Wii and DS series Carnival Games which has now sold over 5m units worldwide.

“Our company and industry experienced a very difficult economic environment in 2009,” chairman Strauss Zelnick explained.

“We believe that 2010 will continue to be challenging and our outlook, while disappointing, reflects a prudent approach to managing our business. The fact remains that Take Two is in a fundamentally strong position to build long term value.”

CEO Ben Feder added: “Our broad portfolio reflects the fantastic creative assets that will be the source of our long term success. Moving forward, we plan to build our company by continuing to focus on select high-potential titles, leveraging our successful franchises and applying our creative abilities to emerging opportunities. We also intend to strengthen our business through increased cost management, improved operational efficiencies, and the timely delivery of our titles.”

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